ReportWire

Tag: Chipsets

  • Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X2 Elite CPU Is Another Stab at Burying Intel

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    Qualcomm’s nascent push into PCs now has the sequel chip that will set the tone for what to expect from Windows-based machines going into 2026. This year, Qualcomm doesn’t have just one flagship CPU; it has two. Announced at its Snapdragon Summit in Hawaii (full disclosure: travel and lodging were paid by Qualcomm, and Gizmodo did not guarantee any coverage as a condition of accepting the trip), the Snapdragon X2 Elite and Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme (a name that, if you say it, immediately cues a radical guitar rip) make performance promises that stress its graphics capabilities more than ever. Whether or not it will be actually good for graphics tasks, including gaming, will depend on how Qualcomm can counter the app compatibility conundrum.

    Qualcomm’s X2 series stands as the sequel to last year’s Snapdragon X processors. While you can find plenty of PCs with a Snapdragon X Elite, Snapdragon X Plus, and the more recent Snapdragon X, the X2 Elite and X2 Elite Extreme are both “flagship level,” even if Qualcomm is mostly focusing on the performance of the more powerful processor and its more radical branding.

    More power for Windows on ARM

    © Kyle Barr / Gizmodo

    The X2 Elite Extreme features 18 of Qualcomm’s Oryon CPU cores on a 3nm process with a 53MB cache. Of the 18 cores, 12 are “prime cores” running at 4.4GHz or up to 5GHz with dual-core boost. An extra six performance cores are running at 3.6GHz. Clock speeds never tell the full story of how powerful a chip can be. It does suggest the processors will be very responsive, but for raw data processing, we need to see how they perform in action. ARM-based processors like those made by Qualcomm are notably more power-efficient than other microarchitectures. The new X2 Elite chips should offer 31% better performance at the same wattage compared to the X Elite.

    The big surprise is how much work Qualcomm put into its Adreno GPU, or graphics processing unit. The chipmaker claimed the new GPU offers 2.3x better performance per watt. While the company implied we’ll get better frame rates, the new GPU should also better support ray tracing for more realistic lighting effects in games. Of course, what matters more is if you can run all your favorite games in the first place.

    Compatibility is still a conundrum

    Qualcomm Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme Specs 5
    © Kyle Barr / Gizmodo

    The Snapdragon X series are ARM-based CPUs. This means they’re using a completely different chip microarchitecture compared to x86 used by Intel and AMD. That has led to compatibility issues for a multitude of apps. Sure, Microsoft and Qualcomm have tried to work with developers to enable apps on ARM-based machines. Adobe’s Creative Suite is all working with ARM on Windows. At Snapdragon Summit, Qualcomm said Razer would be optimizing its Synapse app for ARM sometime in the near future, while Maxon apps like ZBrush will soon work with Snapdragon X laptops by early 2026. But some apps, like the drafting tool AutoCAD, remain incompatible with ARM. The problem is that many apps can’t be easily ported without a lot of effort, especially games. Currently, Microsoft is trying to push its Prism emulator to let some games run on these systems. There are also rumors that Valve, which runs the game marketplace Steam, is working on its own ARM compatibility layer.

    In its conference, Qualcomm showed a list of games that are currently working on ARM or will be in the near future. That includes Fortnite through Epic Online Services anti-cheat. The lingering issue of anti-cheat compatibility will still hinder other online titles.

    The first Snapdragon X PC lineup was meant to push Microsoft’s adoration for AI. The first Copilot+ PCs didn’t grant us the keys to the AI promised land as Microsoft suggested they would, especially after the security snafu with the auto-screenshotting Recall feature. Qualcomm is still pushing the AI narrative with a more powerful NPU, or neural processing unit. It’s a special part of the chip that’s only good enough to handle redundant or background AI tasks. The new NPU on the Snapdragon X2 hits 80 TOPS, or trillions of operations per second, compared to 45 on the Snapdragon X lineup. It may enable more on-device AI without overloading the GPU, though somebody will have to come up with a feature that makes the case for limited AI models.

    Qualcomm promises we’ll get new Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme-powered PCs early in 2026. Expect CES 2026 to be packed to the gills with ARM-based lightweight laptops. We can expect they will be the more premium offerings, but with tariffs causing havoc on PC costs, it’s hard to speculate just what pricing tier X2 might fit into.

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    Kyle Barr

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  • Intel Extends Warranty for 13th and 14th Gen CPUs Amid Chip Debacle

    Intel Extends Warranty for 13th and 14th Gen CPUs Amid Chip Debacle

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    Intel has spent the better part of two weeks under fire for the instability of its 13th and 14th Gen desktop chips. If you haven’t been following the news, a microcode algorithm has affected the series above of chirps. It’s been sending incorrect voltage requests to the processor, resulting in users’ computers crashing. That was already bad, but then came Tom’s Hardware reporting that any damage incurred was permanent.

    Intel announced it was releasing a patch to fix the problem, which is set to hit sometime in mid-August. This is well and good, but what about that permanent damage? According to PC Gamer, Intel is trying to make things right by extending the warranty of the affected boxed chips by two years. Now, if your chip is in a prebuilt system, Intel recommends consumers “contact the system manufacturer’s support team.”

    And while it’s a good move, don’t assume it’s out of the goodness of Intel’s heart. There are reports that a law firm has started investigating and filing a class-action lawsuit against the chipmaker. It is extending the warranty to cover when the chips could be a great way to cut angry consumers off in the past.

    But not so fast. It seems that Intel is even having a problem with the warranty extension. There have been rumblings from some Redditors that Intel isn’t holding up their end of the deal. Jerubedo posted in the r/hardware subreddit details the disappointing back-and-forth with Intel Customer Support. Intel’s RMA. Despite giving the company all the documentation requested on the RMA (Return Materials Authorization) form, they haven’t gotten any satisfaction.

    Instead, Intel told Jerubedo that the products they purchased were “‘re-marked’ and not genuine.” This is despite purchasing two boxed 14900Ks, one from Amazon and the other from Microcenter.  Berube went above and beyond, taking one chip back to Microcenter and getting the retailer to confirm that the chip had not been tampered with and was the genuine article. Intel refused to back down and said that the chips were, in fact, fraudulent.

    In a letter to the Redditor, Intel said, “Please be advised as part of Intel’s ongoing efforts to prevent fraud in the marketplace, in the event the product you submit for warranty support is found to be re-marked or otherwise fraudulent product, Intel reserves the rights to retain the product and/or destroy such product as appropriate.”

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    Sherri L Smith

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